Author's Note:
Yay! New Chapter! PLEASE read and enjoy! Reviews are loved and cherished.
Review Responses:
Dalamis: thanks for the review! Yes, the last chapter was sad… and bloody. Thanks for reading and enjoy this chapter!
This Chapter is dedicated to:
The victims of the Pakistan-India earthquake. May relief come quickly.
The victims of abortion, may you find life in heaven.
Finally to my good friend Chris, I pray that the surgery goes well and that it is not cancerous.
OoOoOoO
What I really wanna know (my baby)
What I really wanna say,
Is there's just one way back
And I'll make it
My soul will have to wait
-Santeria, Sublime
OoOoOoO
Thicker Than Water
By: LalathePanda
Chapter Nine: The Point of No Return
Severus fell back into his bed. His right hand wearily pulled off the pearl white mask off his face. He held it by his fingertips as his wrist and hand hanged off the bed. He turned his head and saw that the hands of the ancient clock were pointing at two. Tonight, he was alone. Yesterday morning, Bella left for America, to spend her last week of winter break with her friend.
Breakfast was silent, except for the clanging of silverware and the sounds of eating. Bella kept looking up at her uncle, wondering if she should say something or wait for him to talk. He just kept his eyes on the morning's paper, as usual.
Bella let out a frustrated sigh. She was getting tired of this. He hardly had a conversation with her, and asking if the chicken was too dry does not count. She was going to be gone for a week, and he can't think of anything to say? Bella concluded, for the fourth time since meeting him, that her uncle had horrible social skills.
"When do you leave?"
Bella's head snapped up. Severus had placed his paper down, and was looking at her. Not the newspaper, her.
"At ten," she quickly replied.
He glanced at the clock. "It's seven-forty already. Go make sure that everything is ready."
"I did."
He picked up his paper again. "Well, then," he began as he turned a page,"be ready by nine, Tonks is coming to take you to the Apparation Center."
"You're not taking me?" she asked with a hint of surprise, even though she sort of knew that he wouldn't.
"I have a meeting with a potion ingredient supplier ten-thirty."
Bella nodded. She pushed her plate of half eaten food away from her and stood up. "I'm done," she announced. Severus nodded and Bella left the table.
Severus stared at his ceiling. He lied to Bella that morning. He didn't have to meet with some supplier. He had a job from the Dark Lord that acquired his whole afternoon. After that, he joined a raid on a muggle area somewhere near Cambridge.
Then hands of the clock slowly moved as Severus lay on his bed, slowly drifting to sleep. As his mind gave into a dreamless sleep, the angel white mask slipped from his fingers and drifted onto the floor.
OoOoO
It was pitch black outside Bella sat by her old bedroom window, wrapped in a thick blanket. A steaming mug of hot chocolate was in her hands. She leaned her head against the wall and looked out into the night. The digital clock behind her read 2:45 AM. Phoebe and her older sister were probably snoring at this time.
Bella continued to look out into the darkness. She closed her eyes for a moment. Moments ago she had woken up from a nightmare. She had dreamt of her parents' death. She never witnessed their murder, but it still haunted her. She remembered that she had lied to her friends, at the feast on her first night at Hogwarts. She told them that her parents died in a car crash. It was a total lie.
She vividly recalled the police report. They were both shot in the face by some crazy on the street. That's why the caskets were closed. Some people didn't really know how the two died, so during the funeral half thought it was because of a car crash, the other half knew they were murdered.
Bella sighed deeply. She looked at the clock. 3:03 AM. She had to get some sleep. By the same time tomorrow she would be sleeping in her bed at the Snape Estate. But first, she had to finish her drink. She brought the mug to her lips and tilted the ceramic cup. She spat the drink back into the mug.
It was cold.
OoOoO
Bella stepped through the portrait hole. Everything was still the same. Gryffindor students were scattered about and the blazing fire still offered warmth. She shoved her hands into her pockets as she headed towards a group of familiar faces.
Ginny turned her head at the sound of footsteps. "Bella!" she cried happily.
"Hey, Ginny," replied Bella as she plopped down on the Persian carpet. She greeted the others.
Ginny hugged Bella. "It's so good to have you back!"
Bella smiled until she noticed that something was wrong. "Where's Harry?" she asked. "And Hermione and Ron?"
"Oh… you haven't heard?' Colin asked, placing his book down. Bella shook her head. "They… they left school during winter break."
"WHAT?"
"Don't worry…" Ginny began. "They said that they would be back by next week-"
"Why?"
"Come again?"
"Why did they leave?" Bella asked again. "Is it because of You-Know-Who?" The group nodded. "How come I didn't know?"
"We sent you an owl," said Colin
Bella leaned back, her arms supporting her. "Did you send it to America?"
The two were silent.
"You guys forgot I was in America for the last week of the break… huh?" They nodded. Bella sighed and allowed the mistake to slide. The rest of the evening was spent catching up on the latest gossip and news. Bella was the first to retire to bed since she still hadn't gotten used to the time difference.
She climbed into bed and closed her eyes. When Bella woke up the next morning, she was the last one still in bed. It was a Sunday, so she wasn't late for any classes. She picked some random articles of clothing from her trunk and put them on. She tied her hair into a messy bun as she walked across the common room and exited the portrait. Her stomach was growling for food, preferably for bacon or a blueberry muffin.
When she spotted her friends sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table she picked up her pace and sat next to Lavender. The group muttered their hellos while Bella piled her plate with a couple strips of bacon and two blueberry muffins.
"Planning to eat your weight in bacon?" joked Colin as he buttered up is toast.
"Hardy-har-har," Bella replied with a mouth full of meat. She swallowed and then stuffed her face again. When she looked up, she was greeted by the weird looks of her friends. "…. I didn't have dinner last night…"
"Ohhhh," replied everyone.
"What's wrong Lavender?" asked Bella. Lavender was giving Bella an odd look.
"What in Merlin's name are you wearing?" breathed Lavender as she slowly scooted away. Bella looked down. Her face scrunched up at the sight of her attire. "Honey, I know you just came back from America...but please...you're in Europe now, have some fashion sense..."
Bella waved her off and continued to munch on her bacon, and occasionally one of the muffins. As she ate, Ginny moved and sat right between her and Lavender.
"So, are you and your uncle on better terms now?" pried Ginny.
Bella shrugged. "I don't know... things still feel the same... well... maybe. We've talked more during the break... I think... or am I just replaying that one true conversation we had three nights before I left for Virginia...?"
"Um... I wouldn't know..." replied Ginny.
"Change of subject please?" interrupted Colin. "No offence, but if you two keep talking about Snape... I'm going to loose my appetite."
"Whatever," said Ginny, rolling her eyes. "Well, I have the daily letter from Harry." She handed an envelope to Bella.
The envelope was covered with dirt and had some water stains on it. Bella took out the letter and read it. Her mouth fell open as her eyes scanned the writing. "They were almost spotted by a death eater? Where the hell are they?"
"They haven't told us their location, you know, just incase the letter fell into the wrong hands," replied Ginny. She took the letter from Bella and placed it back into the envelope. "It's the same thing virtually. 'We're okay', 'don't worry' or something like that…"
"My guess is that they want us to continue life as normal, eh?" Bella said softly. Ginny nodded. The mood suddenly changed.
"How can we pretend that everything is a-okay? There is a war going on outside and we're stuck in here learning about spells and charms that we could use…" said Ginny. Bella looked at Ginny and then at a few faces of her friends before realization hit her.
"You guys aren't planning to leave school and join them?" she hissed.
"Bella, don't you feel useless?" Colin asked. Bella opened her mouth but said nothing. "We have a chance to help, to do something."
"We are planning to leave... next weekend." Bella looked at Neville who had spoken. "You don't have to join us if you don't want."
Bella nodded. "I'm-" she began as she stood up, but couldn't think of what to say. Her friends were going out to a war. They might never come back again. She shook her head and left the Great Hall.
A pair of black eyes from the teacher's table followed her until the grand double doors closed behind her.
OoOoO
Bella looked out into frosty great lake. Her eyes wondered far as she sat on a large boulder implanted in the ground, a few feet away from the shore She hugged one knee to her chest while the other dangled off the boulder. Her chin was rested in the nest her arms created.
It was freezing outside. She had to change into thick clothes before she stepped outside and placed a heat charm on her to keep her from getting frozen. The wind blew harshly against her body at times. She had to recast the heat charm two times to up the temperature. Despite the coldness and the emptiness around her, this was the only place that day she could be with only her and her thoughts.
Should she sneak out of the safest place in the United Kingdom to fight in battles that she could die in along side her friends? The question played over and over again.
This wasn't some fairy tale. This was a real war.
It would be very Gryffindor of her to join the fight. Yes, it would be. But, was she really a true Gryffindor? What would her uncle say? Would he approve her decision to leave school and fight?
And if I died?
Would she make her late parents proud if she fought and died honorably? If she went out and fought with Ginny and everyone else, her chances of surviving were very slim. Her thoughts returned back to her uncle. Would he mourn if she died? Would he continue life as usual?
Realization hit her again for the second time that day. She couldn't join the rest and fight. She had to stay in the castle. Stay safe. She couldn't die. Not yet. Not in some battlefield.
Bella had to stay for him. She thought back to the memory and shuddered. She was all he had left. Despite the silence, she was his world. Bella right there and then refused to leave Severus Snape alone. She was after all, all he had left in the world.
OoOoO
As the week dragged on, Bella noticed that breakfast had become a depressing ritual. Breakfast was an unhappy part of the day because that's when the owls come to deliver their burdens. Countless of students have received owls from their family that bear horrible news. Many told of a death, an injury, or other bad news that was a result of the Dark War.
It was during this time, that the members of Bella's group of friends plotted their plan. Bella had no desire to join them, and so sat out of center of the conversation. Her ear did catch a few words here and there.
It was a very early Saturday morning. There was no class; so many students were lying in bed. A few were up, mainly Ginny, Colin, Neville, Luna, and the rest of the group.
While Bella swirled her spoon in her bowl of porridge, Colin came up and sat down on the empty space on her right.
"Hey, you're going to be okay right?" he asked with a worried expression on his face. Bella didn't look up from her bowl. Tonight was the night that they decided to leave. Bella was not too thrilled with the event. "Bella-" he began again.
"I don't want to talk now," she muttered, pushing her bowl of the cold slush away from her and stood up. She turned her head towards the teacher's table. Her uncle's spot was empty, probably still in bed.
Bella shoved her hands into her pockets and left the Great Hall and made a short journey towards Gryffindor Tower.
On the other side of the medieval castle, Severus stumbled into his private room. He dragged himself towards the fireplace and seated himself down on the plush leather chair. The fire was lit and was blazing with life. He brought his hand towards his swollen lip and wiped some of the crusty blood off his skin.
With the same hand, he poured himself a glass of Fire Whiskey. He looked at the amount in the glass cup before pouring some more of the liquid fire. He deserved a little bit more after all. He just had gotten back from a job with the Dark Lord.
Originally it was to replenish their stock of blood-replenishing potions, but just as he was about leave, Malfoy senior stopped him and invited him to join a group of twenty death eaters on a raid. Severus unwilling said yes. Everything was going smooth during the raid; he even had to kill a few muggles (only when another death eater was close by). He got the bloody lip from some muggle teenager who tried to fight back, which was useless because he was killed the instant his fist left Severus's face. In the end, Severus was lucky enough to have left the raid just as Aurors apparated in.
He brought the glass of amber liquid to his lips. The drink gave him comfort as it burned its way down his throat. Soon he placed the empty glass down. He glanced at the clock and wondered when all this was going to end.
He picked up his wand and closed the curtains. The room was as dark as night, except for the soft glow from a lit candle near the door. Soon, Severus found himself lying in bed, ready to drift to sleep, but couldn't bring himself to close his eyes.
OoOoO
The pale-lit moon hung in the sky, as a small group of students were ready to sneak out of the castle. They wore black cloaks with the hood drawn up over their heads. Each one made sure that their wands were safely tucked away, but in an easy accessible spot. The group stood in front of open underground entrance. The Weasley twins told their little sister about this a few weeks ago. Neville stood in the front, with his lit wand up high, ready to guide the group though the tunnel. Ginny was at the very back of the small army. She kept looking back, but not to look out for professors, but to see if a certain someone came.
Bella barely spoke to them the whole day. She avoided them in the halls, in the tower, even during meal times. Ginny hoped that Bella would come through during the last minute. She wanted Bella to either say good bye or to join them. Ginny looked back at the secret entrance and saw that Neville had already begun to go in. Colin was pushing through the group to get to Ginny.
"She's not going to come. She's stubborn, you that," he said gently. Ginny hung her head.
"Like a Snape, eh?" Ginny muttered. Colin just nodded.
"C'mon, let's go." He gently tugged at her sleeve. He placed Ginny in front of him and pushed her along. When he was sure that Ginny got into the entrance, he made a move to go in. He was the only one in the hallway by then. Just as he set his foot on the other side of the entrance an unexpected feeling cam over him. Colin turned his head and smiled briefly.
He opened his mouth and said softly, "I knew you'd come."
OoOoO
Author's Note:
Hey, I am back! Just like I promised, I updated before Halloween! Go me! ahahaha. I'm so happy; my BETA-er said that my writing has gotten better! She loves the serious turn. I so on cloud nine! I just got back from Confirmation, so maybe that's why I'm also in such HIGH spirits. Yum, doughnuts.
Sorry for the short chapter, but eh… it had to be. Ahaha. OMG. My high school lost the homecoming game on Friday (21). It was ZERO to 24! LMAO! That is SOOO funny. I was there working the guest concession stand with one of the many clubs I am in, Calliope (Poetry). It was fun! I got to see one of my friends from the school we were going against! It was like one big happy reunion. DAVID! Even though you are not reading this, thanks for the sweater! I was freezing my nips off until you gave me your sweater, sweetie pie!
Oh, I have two poems! I have to show them to you guys! Bwahahaha.
Untitled Stalker Poem by LalathePanda
I'm so sorry, but I have too many stalkers,
I have to many creepy lover letters stuffed into my locker,
I'm sick of unknown hands trying to grab my knockers,
And I don't need another pair of eyes peering into my shower,
But I guess, since you were so nice,
I'll let you be my lover!
McDonald by anonymous freshman
I went to McDonalds and bought a Big Mack
I bit the Big Mack but it bit me back.
I asked the lady, "What's the deal?"
And she slapped me in the face with a happy meal.
LMAO I love that one. Aha. I hope you guys liked them. Okay, I have nothing else to say, so I must go and watched my Scrubs Season One DVD! Fun, fun, fun!
PLEASE review!
-lalathePamda